Friends in Christ Message for July 6, 2002

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Friends in Christ Weekly Message
July 6, 2002

Everyone in Jerusalem, celebrate and shout!
Your king has won a victory, and he is coming to you.
He is humble and rides on a donkey;
he comes on the colt of a donkey.
I, the Lord, will take away
war chariots and horses from Israel and Jerusalem.
Bows that were made for battle will be broken.
I will bring peace to nations,
and your king will rule from sea to sea.
His kingdom will reach
from the Euphrates River across the earth.
Zechariah 9:9-10 (CEV*)

This is one of several prophetic visions in the Bible about a coming time of peace. The language in this one appears to refer to Jesus' ride into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. The king reference, then, would seem to be to Christ Jesus.

Zechariah refers to the king as humble. That's not a usual attribute of a sovereign. Jesus is a very different kind of king than we're used to in this world. Not only does he ride on a donkey rather than a majestic steed, but he washes the feet of his followers to demonstrate to them that a leader should be a servant first and foremost.

This is also a king who doesn't rule through the use of worldly weapons. The vision is of a world where these have been all taken away. The kingdom of God is not brought into being through military might. Evil is not defeated through bombs, fighter jets, tanks and soldiers. Rather it is overcome by good.

Let us seek to live in the way prophesied by Zechariah and taught, as well as demonstrated, by Jesus. When we find ourselves in positions of leadership, let us have the heart of a servant. Let us be witnesses of the gospel of peace in our lives and actions, resisting the temptation to impose our will through the use or threat of violence.

Bill Samuel